Alcanada – Aucanada lighthouse
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Technical data
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History
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360 degrees
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Images/Videos
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Public domain
Technical data
Latitude N
39.835376000000
Longitude E
3.170913000000
Nominal range
11 nautical miles
Height above sea level
25 m.
Light pattern
Isolated flashes every 5 seconds.
Daytime appearance
White tower and dwelling. Height 15 metros.
History
Was designed by Emili Pou. It was opened on the 15th May 1861 as a 6th order lighthouse with a catadioptric lens and a fixed white light.
In 1863 the rotted wooden beams were replaced by ones made of iron.
In 1866 the lighter supply service was put out to tender (as at other lighthouses where this service was required) for 584 escudos per year so from 1867 the seamen no longer lived on the island, moving to the Port of Alcudia and making two trips a week to the lighthouse or more if the keepers signalled an emergency by unfurling a white flag.
In 1917 rotating panels were installed; the light now produced a pattern of 3+1 occultations using an acetylene gas burner. The gas was manufactured at the lighthouse using a gas generator where calcium carbide rocks were mixed with water. In 1922 the roof terrace was replaced by a tiled roof due to the serious infrastructure problems caused by the damp.
In 1960 the lantern was replaced by a new unmanned lamp; it was lit automatically by a sun valve and the following year the lighthouse lost its resident keepers, now producing a signal of equidistant white flashes. In the 1990s solar panels were installed and the old gas lights were taken away.
However the old AGA gas lantern was kept on; it contains a modern LED acrylic 54 watt lens. As is the case for many other lighthouses, lighthouse keepers from the Alcanada light saved victims of several shipwrecks; in 1916 they were decorated for saving the crew of the Mallorcan catboat “San Francisco”.
Audioguides
Images/Videos
Public domain
Nearest lighthouses
Balearic Lighthouses
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Mallorca
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Cabrera
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Sa Dragonera
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Formentera
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Menorca
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Eivissa
